Archive for June 5th, 2011

NEW YORK: Sooner than expected, the International Monetary Fund will have a new managing director. For more than a decade, I have criticized the Fund’s governance, symbolized by the way its leader is chosen.

By gentlemen’s agreement among the majority shareholders – the G-8 – the managing director is to be a European, with Americans in the number two post and at the head of the World Bank.

The Europeans typically picked their nominee behind the scenes, as did the Americans, after only cursory consultation with developing countries. The outcome, however, was often not good for the IMF, the World Bank, or the world. Read the rest of this entry »

JUNE 5 — Such is the fate of Malaysians that we have to stomach insults and condescension on a daily basis. If it is not Datuk Ibrahim Ali, it is Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein or Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

At least one of them will insult our intelligence on a daily basis. In a speech to mark the Yang diPertuan Agong’s birthday, the prime minister warned those who caused disunity and stoked the embers of discord that their time is up. His administration would come down hard on them.

Seriously, does he expect us to believe this? Perkasa and Ibrahim and Utusan Malaysia have cornered the market on creating discord in the country and nothing has happened to them. Read the rest of this entry »

Should I gnash my teeth and pull my hair out in anger and frustration at Utusan Malaysia’s “garbage of all garbage” write-up accusing me of being a mastermind in PAS party elections?

Or should I just dismiss it with all the contempt which all calumny, lies and falsehoods deserve?

Indeed a classic “do not know whether to laugh or cry” situation!

Penned by Utusan editors hiding behind the pseudonym Awang Selamat, the “garbage of all garbage” must be read by all Malaysians to forewarn them of the terminal mental disease condition afflicting certain powerful personalities walking the corridors of power in the Najib Razak administration. Hence it is quoted in full as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

ANALYSIS – June 5 — The election of veteran activists, parliamentarians, state administrators and think tank experts into the top PAS leadership has appeared to put the party on a firm war footing.

This line-up of Mohamed Sabu as the PAS deputy president and vice-presidents Salahuddin Ayub, Datuk Husam Musa and Datuk Mahfuz Omar is expected to not only stand shoulder to shoulder with allies in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but it is said that they want to spearhead the coalition in its march to Putrajaya.

Their election perhaps speaks of the party’s changing membership and support base, and the rank-file’s desire to see the party move beyond an Islamist movement to a national-level ruling party. Read the rest of this entry »

JUNE 1 — We commonly hear these days that Malaysia should shift from a race-based affirmative action (AA) to needs-based affirmative action. Pakatan Rakyat started advocating this; Barisan Nasional followed.

The idea seems too nice, constructive, and harmonious to criticise. Both political alliances believe they have found a formula that can gain popular support and shift us away from the testy and rancorous debates over race-based AA and the New Economic Policy.

Unfortunately, needs-based affirmative action makes no sense, much as even I want to believe in it. The notion is, at best, imprecise and partial; at worst, incoherent and delusional. Read the rest of this entry »

JUNE 4 — The world is fighting for talents. We can hardly find another country having a messy overseas scholarship system and yet blames the media for causing chaos, like Malaysia.

I have a book entitled “The Talent War” on my bookshelf. It wrote: “Talent outflow in European countries has made the United States the first country to successfully detonate atomic and hydrogen bombs, as well as send satellites into space and astronauts to land on the moon. Meanwhile, talent outflow in China and India has created Silicon Valley, a home to many of the world’s largest technology corporations, in the US. Talents are more important to a country compared to oil, financial streets and nuclear weapons.” Read the rest of this entry »